Hi ambassadors Please all give a warm welcome to Gavin Rozzi our new ambassador from USA. Below you can learn more about him and his relationship with openSUSE as he told us in his own words. "What have you done already for openSUSE?" Already I have: Given positive press and reviews to openSUSE and it's unique features such as SUSE studio, which you can read here(http://techcentralblog.com/) Referred many people to switch to GNU/Linux, and specifically openSUSE through my IT consulting firm. Giving a voice to FLOSS in an area dominated by closed source alternatives, What I mean here is that I am showing Windows users in my community that they have a CHOICE, and specifically recommending openSUSE, when they didn't even have a clue that a better, open source alternative is available that respects their freedoms. Building low cost computers for the economically disadvantaged with openSUSE preinstalled. Providing free installation media to those interested in my community. Supporting users that are having problems on a Facebook page http://on.fb.me/nEXIIV (Note: I did not create it, I just commented on several posts and continue to do so in order to help the community) Mentoring new users. As a free service, installing openSUSE on legacy hardware that users cannot afford to replace and need to be functional in order to find employment, et al. "What are your plans for promoting openSUSE? Please tell us what you want to do the next 6 months." To promote openSUSE, I plan to first focus on getting the attention of the local media. A few of the local blogs have previously written articles about what I have done with my IT consulting firm, and I now have contacts from within those websites. I plan have them write an article about openSUSE, it's advantages, and why someone would want to use it over proprietary software, or what makes it stand out over other GNU/Linux distributions. I plan to use my blog, which has steadily been gaining momentum since it's July 2nd launch to promote, advertise, give tutorials and show what makes openSUSE shine. I also plan to distribute installation media, the community library has a computer literacy program, and I am planning to contact them, They have a table out where people can leave business cards, flyers et al. I plan to leave literature and installation media, along with contact info, too help new users. I also plan to influence to high school computer programming class, as they are still trapped in the shackles of proprietary IDES and operating systems. Myself and students alike have taken a strong interest in GNU/Linux, and free software in general. By showing them free software, we will make an impression in them, so that they make the right choices as adults, and choose openSUSE and free software. These are what I have planned for now, however I can do anything else asked or needed of me. "What do you think is the best kept secret of openSUSE?" In my opinion, the best kept secret of openSUSE is the community, I regularly read the weekly news, and all of the blogs about openSUSE. openSUSE has the most friendly, welcoming community and userbase, and it's one of the many reasons I want to contribute, so I can be with like-minded people of diverse backgrounds working towards a common goal which I strongly support. "Why do you love to do this" I love to do this because I love the nature of openSUSE and free software. Anybody from anywhere can contribute, and make something better. I am someone who takes stuff apart and is fascinated by being able to see what makes something "work". A little insight: I got my first computer at 6, and took it apart to study its parts, that's when I was hooked. I love to be able to deliver a superior product, and work towards a bigger goal, but also at the same time giving back to the community. It never really struck me until I walked into a popular electronics retailer and saw Windows 7 boxes on display. I saw the eye gouging price of over 200 dollars, and I thought, what about the people who can't afford this? Don't they deserve to be able to use an up to date, modern system like you and I? That's when I found openSUSE, and now after using it for a while, am ready to give back to this community. I am passionate about technology and computers, and love working with them, even if it is such a mundane task such as installing packages, I love it and find it fun. "How did you start with with Linux/openSUSE? What is your level of experience?" I started with Linux/openSUSE in late 2008, after being increasingly frustrated with the lack of stability, security, and ethics of Windows I began to seek out an alternative. I knew Linux was around, I just didn't know where to start. That's when I found openSUSE. I had an older laptop at the time, it shipped with Windows XP, and was beginning to break down, disk fragmentation, and a world of hurt. I asked myself when first reading about openSUSE, How could it A not suffer the same performance bottlenecks as Windows et al. B Actually be faster on old hardware, and C Free and open source. That's where I started, and now want to share it with everyone possible. After about 4 or so years of use, I am fairly experienced, I am very comfortable using the command line and different desktop environments, and If I don't know something, I look it up and teach myself. I'm comfortable enough to be able to talk in non-technical terms to newcomers, and mentor them. -- http://opensuse.gr http://amb.opensuse.gr http://own.opensuse.gr http://warlordfff.tk me I am not me ------- Time travel is possible, you just need to know the right aliens -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-ambassadors+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-ambassadors+help@opensuse.org